Now We Can See
by emileighhs
Summary: Piper had come to terms with the fact that Jason didn't want to date her and there might be another girl at Camp Jupiter….


Piper dug her fingers into the hot sand and sighed. The sun was hot on her face and exposed skin, but the breeze was nice and the sound of the waves crashing was relaxing. Piper was supposed to be at the lake canoeing with the other cabin members of the Aphrodite cabin, but she skipped out and instead went to the beach. It's not like they'd notice her gone anyway, even though she was the cabin leader.

Piper, Leo, and Jason's quest ended exactly a week ago. Leo was working furiously on more detailed designs for the _Argo II _and over neglecting his sleep. Jason mostly played basketball with the Apollo kids and told Chiron all the memories her could muster up. Meanwhile Piper was…well, she was thinking about Jason. Piper had come to terms with the fact that Jason _didn't _want to date her and there might be another girl at Camp Jupiter.

But that doesn't mean she still doesn't torture herself about him. She can't help it. The memory she had of their first kiss was so sharp, she was _sure _it really happened, even though she knew it was Hera's doing.

Maybe Hera didn't like her. Hera _could _have just implanted memories of Piper and Jason being simply friends-nothing more-but instead they had to kiss.

Piper scowls at the sand as if it was its' fault.

"Hey."

Piper turned her head quickly to see Jason standing a few feet away, his hands tucked in his pockets.

"Hi," Piper replied.

Things weren't awkward between them. They were friends, after all, but Piper still thought about how close he was to her at the Grand Canyon and when he would let her lean against his back or drop her head in his lap to sleep. It made her heart hurt, but she ignored it.

"Aren't you supposed to be with your cabin?" Jason asks, walking the few feet between them so that he's standing next to her. Piper shrugs.

"I don't want to canoe," she says, squinting up at him. The sun is directly behind him and it makes his hair turn bright gold like a halo. He drops down next to her, pulling his knees up and resting his elbows on them.

"Why not? The nereids are nice."

"Yeah, but I'm not really in the mood to take a swim."

Jason nods, glancing at her out of the corner of his eye. Piper swirls her fingers in the sand, drawing patterns before swiping her hand and clearing it.

Jason had been looking for Piper. Someone from the Ares cabin said that the Aphrodite kids were at the lake, but when he got there, Piper was nowhere to be found. He looked in her cabin and in the big house and the strawberry fields too, but he couldn't find her. Then he remembered that she told him her and her dad loved to surf, so he thought she just might be at the beach. And she was.

He needed to talk to her. He didn't the skirting around each other. They didn't avoid each other completely, but they didn't talk as much as they used to, and during the campfire, she would sit with her cabin instead of with him. Which kind of hurt, but he didn't blame her. He assumed she was giving him space to sort out his feelings though there wasn't much to sort out.

He remembers Reyna, his fellow praetor, and her long black hair and dark eyes. But he doesn't remember having any romantic feelings toward her. He knew praetors usually ended up together, but he didn't think it was going to happen with him and Reyna. She was a good friend and a great leader. Jason just didn't feel that way about her.

So when his memories started coming back, he confused at first. He only got flashes of her-laughing, drinking out of a paper cup in front of a coffee store and riding a Pegasus, but he had no idea who she was. At first, he thought she was his girlfriend and he felt so bad about it that he couldn't look Piper in the eyes for a few days. Then, just two days ago, Jason got a memory of Reyna basically asking Jason if he would go on a date with her…and he said no. So that obviously meant he was never in a relationship with Reyna.

And he felt relieved. Now he could like Piper without feeling guilty. He looked at her now with her knees drawn against her chest, her arms crossed on the top of her knees (she stopped playing with the sand now), and her chin resting on top. She wasn't looking at him, but she was staring at the ocean and he wondered if she was thinking about her dad.

"Piper," Jason said. She turned and locked eyes with him, lifting her head off of her arms. He doesn't know how to start it off. He might be good at talking his way out of dangerous situations (though Piper is better), but when it comes to girls…he's literally clueless. So he just decides to just do something that doesn't involve talking quite yet.

He kisses her, just a peck on the lips and Jason's heart is pounding so loud he hopes Piper doesn't hear it. She blinks at him, her mouth parted in surprise. He kisses her again. It's their first _real _kiss, not one conjured from memory. Piper's lips are soft and she was still surprised that she didn't respond. A second later she touched his jaw softly and his heart thumps painfully.

When he pulls away, Piper stares at him.

"What-"

"There's not another girl," he says quickly, cutting her off. "There's no girl waiting for me at Camp Jupiter, Piper."

Piper doesn't answer. She just casts her eyes down and presses her lips together.

"And I…I think I love you."

Piper lifts her head, her eyebrows furrowing.

"You think?"

Jason blushes. Yeah, he's definitely clueless.

"No, no. I love you."

"Say it again," she says, surprising Jason.

"I love you, Piper."

He watches as Piper's shoulders drop a little and a small sigh escapes her lips. Maybe he wasn't supposed to hear her sigh, but it was a signal to him that she's relieved. He didn't really think she was stressing out as much as he was about this, but maybe she was.

Piper wraps her arms around Jason's neck and kisses him, smiling against his lips.

"I love you too, Jason."

* * *

Hi, okay I just love the fact that Jason has no idea what he's doing half the time he's around Piper and it's cute, okay, bye (please review).


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